Hello my friends! Tonight we had a volunteer picnic meal at Church, Father Mark grilling brats with buns, and saurkraut, having baked beans, chips, mixed fruits and a variety of desserts. At this I talked to someone who knew my hometown, and here I find out that I knew her Mother, who died of cancer last year - she was a best friend of my cousin's, and what a shock to find this out! She knows exactly the farm I grew up on. I know hers. What a small world! Thanks, Harlene, for praying for Sammy! So appreciate any prayers he gets!
Praise accomplishes great things. Lord, let me be your instrument
in touching lives and changing hearts.
Scripture for the day:
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that
you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." ~Romans 15:13
Meditation for the day:
The power of God's spirit is the greatest power in the universe. Our
conquest of each other, the great kings and conquerors, the conquest of
wealth, the leaders of the money society, all amount to very little in the
end. But the one that conquers him or herself is greater than the one who
conquers a city. Material things have no permanence. But God's spirit is
eternal. Everything really worthwhile in the world is the result of the
power of God's spirit.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may open myself to the power of God's spirit. I pray that my
relationships with others may be improved by this spirit.
Prayer for True Spiritual Vision
May the Lord Jesus place His hands on our eyes that we may begin to catch
sight of the thing that are not seen more than the things that are seen.
May He open our eyes that they will alight on the things to come more than
on the things of this age.
May He unveil the vision of our heart that it may contemplate God in spirit.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ to whom belong glory and power for
ever. Amen.
Origen, 2nd century Theologian and Educator
Prayer for the Helpless Unborn
Heavenly Father, in Your love for us, protect against the wickedness of the
devil, those helpless little ones to whom You have given the gift of life.
Touch with pity the hearts of those women pregnant in our world today who
are not thinking of motherhood.
Help them to see that the child they carry is made in Your image - as well
as theirs - made for eternnal life. Dispel their fear and selfishness and
give them true womanly hearts to love their babies and give them birth and
all the needed care that a mother alone can give.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord, who lives and reigns
with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever, Amen.
God's Coffee
A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to
visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into
complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned
with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic,
glass, crystal, some plain looking, some
expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:
"If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving
behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the
best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases
it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.
What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously
went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.
Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in
society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the
type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.
Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God
has provided us."
God brews the coffee, not the cups.......... Enjoy your coffee!
"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the
best of everything."
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to
God.
Author unknown
Negative Emotions
When you harbor resentment, anger or
Bitterness, the person you end up harming the
Most is yourself. Negative emotions have a way of
Creating negative energy that destroys
Positive emotions, like generosity, love and joy.
Although the unhappy situation may be long
Gone, you may be allowing it to hold you back
By holding onto the feelings it evoked.
Today, vow to start "cleaning out" that inner
Vault of negativism. Try to forgive those who've
Caused you previous pain, and if you can't
Forgive, at least try to forget.
Break free ! Let go! Move forward with optimism.
It's the best way to find happiness.
EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED
By Sally I Kennedy
Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Psalm 105:4
Things didn't go quite like I'd planned today. "Imagine that," I
thought. Well, if there is one thing in life we can be certain of,
it's change. When our kids were growing up, I recall feeling strongly
about preparing them for change in their lives, to understand the need
to be flexible without compromising our values and who we are.
The names for the Lord God Almighty, our triune God, are many in the
Old Testament scriptures. Among them are Jehovah Shammah, the God who
is there. That is one of my favorites. Also Jehovah Nissi, the Lord
our banner, who goes before us, and Jehovah Rohe, the God who heals.
My personal extra name for God is Jehovah Surprise, the God of the
Unexpected. Not that anything happening catches Him offguard. He's not
up in heaven, looking down, exclaiming," Oh my goodness; look at
that!" Rather, I'm the one who is continually surprised by events and
people.
There's a saying,"We make plans and God laughs." And yet another
saying, "Life is what happens while we're making other plans." God may
be full of surprises, yet He is still in control, still the sovereign
God of the universe, still on His throne, the same yesterday, today,
and forever.
The Lord's love and faithfulness is about the only thing we can expect
in the midst of the unexpected. The good news is we can count on Him
in our constantly ever-changing
world.
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